The MG TC Midget 1945 - 1949

On the eve of the war, MG had offered the TB
model which, with a few modifications was to become the first post-war MG, the
TC Midget. The chassis of the new car was essentially the same as before, but
the sliding trunnion spring mountings had been dispensed with in favour of more
conventional rubber bush shackles. This had been forced on MG, as it was unable
to obtain the raw materials necessary for the original mounts, this helped to
simplify the maintenance procedure, but made little difference to the handling
of the car.

The MG TC in an original 1945 brochure.

During World War II production of MG's
ceased as the MG Car Company was put into service for the war effort making
tanks and airplane parts, and other military items. When the war ended the the
MG Car Company was anxious to get back to making sports cars. They revisited
the MGTB and made a few subtle changes. These were in the form of a wider body
and shackles replacing sliding trunnions for the spring mounts. The Nuffield
Organization also made another drastic change. They started taking an active
interest in selling their sports cars in North America. It appears that during
the War a number of American GI's had an opportunity to experience the T-Series
MG's. When the War ended a number of these cars were imported and then formally
sold into North America, especially the United States.

With a return to peacetime in 1945, thoughts
at MG turned once again to building cars, but things were never to be the same
again. A socialist government was in power, the country's industry had been
ravaged by bombing, and wartime shortages had led to rationing of just about
everything. Although there was a considerable demand on the home market for any
form of personal transport, raw materials were in short supply which was
controlled by the government. With the urgent need for the country to earn
foreign income to aid reconstruction, priority was given to supplying raw
materials to those companies who concentrated on exporting their products. The
phrase "export or die" had a very real meaning. Since little
development work was carried out during the war on the post-war generation of
cars, so most manufacturers simply dusted off their pre-war models, tidied them
up and wheeled them out. MG was no exception to this, but in the pervading
atmosphere it was clear that the big luxury saloons of the pre-war era would
not be looked upon with favour. Consequently, it was decided to concentrate
initially on the car which had been the mainstay of MG's reputation as a
manufacturer of sports cars - the Midget.

The MG TC in an original 1945 brochure.

The engine was the now
familiar twin-carburettor, 1250cc, pushrod, ohv XPAG unit. The transmission was
also the single-plate dry clutch and four-speed synchromesh unit as had been
seen in the TB. The brakes were 9
inch hydraulic units and the wheels the usual centre-locking
wires.
The TC was offered in one body style only - an open two-seater which was very
similar in appearance to the TB model. All the old features were there : the
humped scuttle with folding windshield, cutaway doors, swept front and rear
wings, a slab-type fuel tank and rear-mounted spare wheel. It was almost as if
the intervening 5 years had never happened!

Despite the fact that the car was so
obviously dated, in terms of both mechanical specification and appearance, the
MG TC Midget found a ready market. There were a number of reasons suggested for
this a lack of other post-war cars, or the familiar design reminding people of
the pre-war days, whatever the reason the Midgets success took MG somewhat by
surprise.

The MG TC in an original 1945 brochure.

Aware that the more cars they could export,
the greater would be their allocation of raw materials, MG sought sales around
the world and succeeded in generating a substantial demand for the car. So
successful were they that, in the cars four-year production run, from 1945 till
1949, some 10,000 TC's were built, a substantial number of which were shipped
to the USA where they were to generate new enthusiasm for sports cars and motor
sport.

It is quite remarkable how a car which was
basically a "stop-gap" should have enjoyed so much success,
generating sales figures far beyond those experienced before the war.